Core of your workout: Get flat abs this summer

Wednesday

Jul 29, 2009 at 12:01 AMJul 29, 2009 at 8:34 PM

Summertime means baring your belly, and those flat, sexy abs don’t come easy. So for better results this season, try working your core. What is your core? It’s the muscles underneath your abdominals that provide stability to the lower back and spine. According to Tim Eliah, a Bally’s personal trainer in Naperville, Ill., this is the best ways to see results in the midsection. “These exercises work better than crunches because they allow less room for cheating. Therefore, they work the midsection harder.” Here are five moves Eliah recommends to whip your trunk into summer shape.

Summertime means baring your belly, and those flat, sexy abs don’t come easy. So for better results this season, try working your core. What is your core? It’s the muscles underneath your abdominals that provide stability to the lower back and spine. According to Tim Eliah, a Bally’s personal trainer in Naperville, Ill., this is the best ways to see results in the midsection. “These exercises work better than crunches because they allow less room for cheating. Therefore, they work the midsection harder.” Here are five moves Eliah recommends to whip your trunk into summer shape.

Start facedown on the floor, with your arms and legs extended out front. Raise your head, your left arm, and right leg about five inches off the floor. Hold for three counts, then lower. Repeat with your right arm and left leg. Do up to 10 reps on each side.

Keep It Honest: Don't raise your shoulders too much.

Make It Harder: Lift both arms and legs at the same time.

2. BRIDGE

What It Hits: glutes and hamstrings

Lie faceup on the floor, with your knees bent 90 degrees, your feet on the floor. Lift your hips and back off the floor until your body forms a straight line from your shoulders to your knees. Hold for five to 10 seconds. Lower to the floor and repeat 10 to 12 times.

Keep It Honest: Squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement, and don't let your spine sag.

Make It Harder: Straighten one leg once your hips are lifted.

3. METRONOME/ WINDSHIELD WASHERS

What It Hits: obliques

Lie faceup on the floor with your knees bent and raised over your hips, with your ankles parallel to the ground, your feet lifted, and your arms extended outward. Rotate your legs to the left side, bringing your knees as close to the floor as possible without touching.
Return to the center, then move your knees to the right side. Do 10 to 12 reps on each side.

Keep It Honest: Make sure not to swing your hips or use momentum; start the movement from your core and continue to move slowly from side to side.

Make It Harder: Keep your legs straight.

4. PLANK LIFT

What It Hits: Transversus abdominis and lower back

Begin facedown on the floor, propped up on your forearms, with knees and feet together. With your elbows under your shoulders, lift your torso, legs, and hips in a straight line from head to heels. Hold for 10 seconds. Raise your right leg a few inches, keeping the rest of the body still. Lower and repeat with your left leg.

Keep It Honest: Pull in your belly and don't let your hips sag.

Make It Harder: Extend the time of the exercise. Each time you lift your leg, hold it for 15 to 20 seconds.

Lie on your right side, supporting your upper body on your right forearm, with your left arm at your left side. Lift your hips and, keeping your body weight supported on the forearm and the side of the right foot, extend your left arm above your shoulder. Hold this position for 10 to 30 seconds. Switch sides and repeat.

Keep It Honest: Keep your hips up; don't let them sag.

Make It Harder: Support your upper body with your right hand, instead of your forearm.

ALL THE RIGHT MOVES

Make a few quick fixes, and see the payoff on the run

The Mistake: You're doing the wrong exercises
The Fix Do workouts that hit the muscles and movements that runners need. Try exercises like the side plank or plank lift that strengthen the obliques, located on the sides of the trunk, and the transverse abs, the deep core muscles that wrap around the trunk like a corset. These muscles stabilize the core, help counter rotation, and minimize wasteful movement so that you run more efficiently.

The Mistake: You're a creature of habit
The Fix Mix it up. Fine-tune your workout to make it more difficult. Try balancing on one leg or changing your arm position. At the gym, use devices like stability balls or balance discs, unstable platforms that force your core muscles to work harder to keep you steady. And as a rule, Eliah says, change your routine around every six weeks or so.

The Mistake: You whip through your workouts
The Fix Slow it down. Exercises like the plank, which require holding one position for 10 to 60 seconds, force you to work your muscles continuously. Even in exercises that involve repetitions, make steady, not rapid-fire, movements.

The Mistake: You ignore what you don't see
The Fix Include at least one exercise that hits the lower back and glutes in each workout. Moves like the bridge and superman, build muscles that support and protect the spine.

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